AbuMubarak
07-11-04, 01:27 AM
Assalama alikum,
...Avoiding harm to others and concealing the weakness of one's
fellow human beings is a prominent theme of the moral teachings of
the Quran and the Sunnah. The message here is conveyed in a variety
of forms, contextx and ideas, all of which are indicative of Islam's
emphasis on the honour and dignity of the individual, and of his or
her right to privacy safe from the enroachment of others.
Thus according to a hadith:
"If a person conceals the weakness of another in this world, Allah
will conceal their weakness in the hereafter"
[Al Nawawi, Riyad al Salihin p 135, Hadith no 245; al Ghazali, Kitab
Adab p 344]
A variant version of the same message is reported in another hadith,
which states:
"Whoever protects the honour of his brother, will have Allah protect
his countenance from the fire on the Day of Judgement"
[Al Nawawi, Riyad al Salihin p 488, Hadith no 1530]
In yet another hadith we read:
"Do not harm Muslims, and do not revile them, nor pursue their
imperfections. For verily, whosoever pursues the imperfections of his
brother shall have his own imperfections pursued by Allah"
[Sunan of al Tirmidhi, as quoted in Principles of State and
Government in Islam, p 85]
Concealing the faults of, and respecting the privacy of others is
again the theme of the following hadith:
"The Muslim who helps another when the latter's honour and dignity
are under attack, shall be helped by Allah, Glorious and Sublime is
He! - at a time when he would wish for Allah's help. But he who
forsakes a Muslim whose dignity is under attack, shall have Allah
forsake him at a time when he would wish for Allah's help"
[Al Ghazali, Ihyaa Ulum al Din; Kitab Adab al Suhbah p 369]
It was reported that one night when Calip Umar was patrolling Medina,
he saw a man and a woman committing adultery. The following day the
caliph informed other Companions and asked them whether he should
enforce rge prescribed penalty (hadd) for zina on the basis of his
own observations. To this Ali replied that the law of Allah stated
clearly that four witnesses were required to prove zina, and that
this provision was to be applied equally to the caliph. Other
companions are also reported to have concurred with Ali's opinion.
While quoting this report, al Ghazali observes that this is strong
evidence that the shariah demands the concealment of sins (satr al
fawahish); it also discourages spying on or reporting the priivate
affairs of others.
[Kitab al Adab p 345-6]
It is noted that concealmentt (satr) is reccomended only with regard
to persons who are not generally known to engage in corrupt and
harmful activities. As for those who are notorious, it is reccomended
that their evil is not concealed and that the matter is reported to
the authjorities.
Exposing the faults of others by casting aspersions, or spying on
them, is particularly reprehensible. Thus according to a hadith,
people are warned:
"Beware of suspicion. For suspicion is the most untrue form of
speech; and do not spy upon one another and do not revile one
another."
[Sahih Muslim, Kitab al birr wal silah, Bab al nahy an al tajasus]
Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal was once asked about the correct meaning of the
following hadith:
"When you hear something form or about your brother, ascribe to it
the best interpretation until you can no longer do so"
To this, he replied:
"Find an excuse for him by saying, 'Maybe he said this, or maybe he
meant sch and such'"
It is further reported in another hadith:
"Whoever is offered an apology from a fellow Muslim should accept it
unless he knows that the person apologising is being dishonest"
[Mishkat al Tabrizi, Vol III Hadith no 5052]
Commenting on these hadiths, Tuffah has rightlyobserved that, despite
the occurence of the word brother (akh) therein, they are of gerenal
import, and their scope is not confined to Muslims, the reason being
that in Islam justice and benevolence (adl wa ihsan) are not confined
to Muslims alone. The question of the way people treat fellow
citizens in society, their brothers and sisters in humanity, is
closely linked with the Quranic concepts of adl and ihsan, and these
do not admit if any restriction that would compromise their objective
application.
[Tuffah, Masadir pp 89-90]
This indeed is the main point of the following Quranic text:
"And let not the hatred of a people harm you into being unjust. Be
just, for it is closet to piety (taqwa)"
[Surah 5: verse 8]
Furthermore, Hasan, the son of Ali is reported to have said:
"If a man abuses me in one ear and then apologises to mein the other,
I shall accept his apology"
[Al Maqdisi, al Adab, I p 341]
Thus it is evident that silence takes priority over speech when it
come sto exposing the faults and weaknesses of others.
'One should not talk about the defects of others even if one is asked
about them. One must try to avoid prying and asking personal
questions about the private lives of others"
[Al Ghazali, Kitab Adab pp 242-43]
For tolerance and forgiveness are necessary in order to encourage an
atmosphere of fraternity in the community.
[Ref: Kamali,"Freedom of Expression in Islam"]
May God Almighty have mercy on us all, ameen.
fi amanillah, assalam alaikum, f
...Avoiding harm to others and concealing the weakness of one's
fellow human beings is a prominent theme of the moral teachings of
the Quran and the Sunnah. The message here is conveyed in a variety
of forms, contextx and ideas, all of which are indicative of Islam's
emphasis on the honour and dignity of the individual, and of his or
her right to privacy safe from the enroachment of others.
Thus according to a hadith:
"If a person conceals the weakness of another in this world, Allah
will conceal their weakness in the hereafter"
[Al Nawawi, Riyad al Salihin p 135, Hadith no 245; al Ghazali, Kitab
Adab p 344]
A variant version of the same message is reported in another hadith,
which states:
"Whoever protects the honour of his brother, will have Allah protect
his countenance from the fire on the Day of Judgement"
[Al Nawawi, Riyad al Salihin p 488, Hadith no 1530]
In yet another hadith we read:
"Do not harm Muslims, and do not revile them, nor pursue their
imperfections. For verily, whosoever pursues the imperfections of his
brother shall have his own imperfections pursued by Allah"
[Sunan of al Tirmidhi, as quoted in Principles of State and
Government in Islam, p 85]
Concealing the faults of, and respecting the privacy of others is
again the theme of the following hadith:
"The Muslim who helps another when the latter's honour and dignity
are under attack, shall be helped by Allah, Glorious and Sublime is
He! - at a time when he would wish for Allah's help. But he who
forsakes a Muslim whose dignity is under attack, shall have Allah
forsake him at a time when he would wish for Allah's help"
[Al Ghazali, Ihyaa Ulum al Din; Kitab Adab al Suhbah p 369]
It was reported that one night when Calip Umar was patrolling Medina,
he saw a man and a woman committing adultery. The following day the
caliph informed other Companions and asked them whether he should
enforce rge prescribed penalty (hadd) for zina on the basis of his
own observations. To this Ali replied that the law of Allah stated
clearly that four witnesses were required to prove zina, and that
this provision was to be applied equally to the caliph. Other
companions are also reported to have concurred with Ali's opinion.
While quoting this report, al Ghazali observes that this is strong
evidence that the shariah demands the concealment of sins (satr al
fawahish); it also discourages spying on or reporting the priivate
affairs of others.
[Kitab al Adab p 345-6]
It is noted that concealmentt (satr) is reccomended only with regard
to persons who are not generally known to engage in corrupt and
harmful activities. As for those who are notorious, it is reccomended
that their evil is not concealed and that the matter is reported to
the authjorities.
Exposing the faults of others by casting aspersions, or spying on
them, is particularly reprehensible. Thus according to a hadith,
people are warned:
"Beware of suspicion. For suspicion is the most untrue form of
speech; and do not spy upon one another and do not revile one
another."
[Sahih Muslim, Kitab al birr wal silah, Bab al nahy an al tajasus]
Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal was once asked about the correct meaning of the
following hadith:
"When you hear something form or about your brother, ascribe to it
the best interpretation until you can no longer do so"
To this, he replied:
"Find an excuse for him by saying, 'Maybe he said this, or maybe he
meant sch and such'"
It is further reported in another hadith:
"Whoever is offered an apology from a fellow Muslim should accept it
unless he knows that the person apologising is being dishonest"
[Mishkat al Tabrizi, Vol III Hadith no 5052]
Commenting on these hadiths, Tuffah has rightlyobserved that, despite
the occurence of the word brother (akh) therein, they are of gerenal
import, and their scope is not confined to Muslims, the reason being
that in Islam justice and benevolence (adl wa ihsan) are not confined
to Muslims alone. The question of the way people treat fellow
citizens in society, their brothers and sisters in humanity, is
closely linked with the Quranic concepts of adl and ihsan, and these
do not admit if any restriction that would compromise their objective
application.
[Tuffah, Masadir pp 89-90]
This indeed is the main point of the following Quranic text:
"And let not the hatred of a people harm you into being unjust. Be
just, for it is closet to piety (taqwa)"
[Surah 5: verse 8]
Furthermore, Hasan, the son of Ali is reported to have said:
"If a man abuses me in one ear and then apologises to mein the other,
I shall accept his apology"
[Al Maqdisi, al Adab, I p 341]
Thus it is evident that silence takes priority over speech when it
come sto exposing the faults and weaknesses of others.
'One should not talk about the defects of others even if one is asked
about them. One must try to avoid prying and asking personal
questions about the private lives of others"
[Al Ghazali, Kitab Adab pp 242-43]
For tolerance and forgiveness are necessary in order to encourage an
atmosphere of fraternity in the community.
[Ref: Kamali,"Freedom of Expression in Islam"]
May God Almighty have mercy on us all, ameen.
fi amanillah, assalam alaikum, f